Hexagram 57 巽 changing to hexagram 2 坤
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 3, 5, 6.
What to read
Four changing lines: read the two unchanged lines of the resulting hexagram; the lower one is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Hexagram 2 坤, line 1
履霜，堅冰至。
In the first line, divided, (we see its subject) treading on hoarfrost. The strong ice will come (by and by).
Hexagram 2 坤, line 4
括囊，无咎无譽。
The fourth line, divided, (shows the symbol of) a sack tied up. There will be no ground for blame or for praise.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 57 巽 — judgment
小亨。利有攸往。利見大人。
Sun intimates that (under the conditions which it denotes) there will be some little attainment and progress. There will be advantage in movement onward in whatever direction. It will be advantageous (also) to see the great man.
Hexagram 2 坤 — judgment
元亨。利牝馬之貞。
Khwăn (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and having the firmness of a mare. When the superior man (here intended) has to make any movement, if he take the initiative, he will go astray; if he follow, he will find his (proper) lord. The advantageousness will be seen in his getting friends in the south-west, and losing friends in the north-east. If he rest in correctness and firmness, there will be good fortune.
The changing lines of hexagram 57
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 巽在牀下，用史巫紛若，吉无咎。 | The second line, undivided, shows the representative of Sun beneath a couch, and employing diviners and exorcists in a way bordering on confusion. There will be good fortune and no error. |
| 3 | 頻巽，吝。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject penetrating (only) by violent and repeated efforts. There will be occasion for regret. |
| 5 | 貞吉悔亡，无不利。无初有終，先庚三日，後庚三日，吉。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (to its subject). All occasion for repentance will disappear, and all his movements will be advantageous. There may have been no (good) beginning, but there will be a (good) end. Three days before making any changes, (let him give notice of them); and three days after, (let him reconsider them). There will (thus) be good fortune. |
| 6 | 巽在牀下，喪其資斧，貞凶。 | The sixth line, undivided, shows the representative of penetration beneath a couch, and having lost the axe with which he executed his decisions. However firm and correct he may (try to) be, there will be evil. |
English: James Legge (1882), public domain. Chinese: Zhou Yi.
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.